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FuboTV Boots Up Next-Gen App on Fire TV:fuboTV, a “virtual” MVPD that offers a mix of sports and entertainment programming over-the-top, has picked the Amazon Fire TV to introduce a next-gen app that includes a cloud-based DVR as well as in-app purchasing capabilities. The in-app purchasing component, Continue reading FuboTV Boots Up Next-Gen App on Fire TV→

AMC Orders ‘Geeking Out’ Late Night Talk Show:AMC will add a late night talk show starring Kevin Smith to its original programming portfolio. The series, Geeking Out, will be hosted by Smith (Comic Book Men) and Greg Grunberg (Heroes), and will take a timely look at pop Continue reading AMC Orders ‘Geeking Out’ Late Night Talk Show→

Fusion has extended its streaming reach with the launch of its Watch Fusion app for the Amazon Fire TV box and Fire TV Stick.

In addition to a mix of long- and short-form fare, including highlights from programs such as AMERICA with Jorge Ramos and Real Future, the app also provides an authenticated live stream of the millennials-focused network and on-demand access to digital series including This Shouldn’t Be News, The Curls Room and Sex+Life.

“Our aim is to deliver a FUSION-branded experience everywhere our young, connected audience is consuming content,” Fusion CEO Isaac Lee said, in a statement. “We’re thrilled that with the launch of WATCH FUSION on Amazon Fire TV and Fire Stick, millions of multicultural millennials will have a new way to access our content.

Other OTT platforms supported by Fusion include the Apple TV, Roku players and Roku TVs, PlayStation consoles, and Android TV-powered devices, among others.

In a deal that extends the reach of its original programming to the Land of the Rising Sun, HBO has inked an exclusive SVOD licensing agreement with Hulu in Japan (HJ Holdings LLC).

The deal will enable Hulu in Japan to offer an array of HBO series, including Silicon Valley, and give HBO the opportunity to premiere originals that have never been offered in that country.

In addition to Silicon Valley, the deal covers “hundreds of hours” of programming from HBO’s library, starting off with series and titles such as Game of Thrones, True Detective, Girls, Sex and the City, The Sopranos, Boardwalk Empire, The Newsroom, Six Feet Under, True Blood, Band of Brothers, Rome, Enourage, Little Britain USA, Todd McFarlane’s Spawn, Carnivale, The Pacific, and The Wire.

Those titles could help to drive subs to Hulu in Japan, which competes there with OTT rivals Netflix and Amazon.

“We are very excited to be able to deliver HBO’s great line-up, which could be described as a treasure chest of US drama series, to Hulu’s viewers in Japan,” Kazufumi Nagasawa, chief content officer, HJ Holdings, said in a statement.

“We are delighted to work together with Hulu in Japan to bring HBO’s distinctive programming to Hulu’s viewers, who have a great eye for foreign drama,” added Charles Schreger, president, programming sales, HBO. “HBO is committed to delivering the most groundbreaking and creative shows to its audience, and we welcome this opportunity to introduce more of our greatest series and miniseries to Hulu’s viewers in Japan.”

HJ Holdings is a full owned subsidiary Japanese broadcast company Nippon Television Network Corp. Hulu launched service in Japan in September 2011, and Hulu’s Japan business was fully acquired by Nippon TV in April 2014.

RCN said it’s among the first cable operators to provide access to the authenticated HBO Go app on set-tops/DVRs powered by TiVo.

RCN said it is supporting HBO’s TV Everywhere offering on TiVo boxes it has deployed to customers in Chicago; New York; Boston; Washington, D.C.; Philadelphia and Lehigh Valley, Pa., eliminating the need for subs to access HBO Go on other types of TV-connected devices.

RCN noted that HBO Go content is integrated into the TiVo Search and OnePass platforms.

TiVo announced this week that it has begun to offer HBO Go on its TiVo Bolt, Roamio and Premiere retail product line, and that it would also extend support for the app on select TiVo devices that are distributed by its MVPD partners. Other TiVo U.S. MVPD partners include Buckeye CableSystem, Atlantic Broadband, Midco, Armstrong, GCI, Grande Communications, Suddenlink Communications (now part of Altice Group), and Mediacom Communications, among others.

“Watching popular content from the HBO GO app just became a lot more convenient,” said Chris Fenger, RCN’s COO, in a statement. “Our customers can now easily enjoy all HBO GO programming from either the big screen in their living room or on mobile devices – anytime, anywhere.”

”RCN remains at the forefront of innovation in the cable TV industry, and we are very excited to partner with them to provide their users with easier access to HBO GO and our incredible line up of programming,” added Joseph Bahr, VP, worldwide digital distribution & business development for HBO.

“TiVo is proud to continue to enhance the entertainment experience for RCN customers by establishing content partnerships that further their access to top-quality programming,” said Tara Maitra, SVP, GM of content and media sales for TiVo. “By partnering with HBO to offer the HBO GO app, TiVo is enabling their operator partners to provide premium content to their customer base in a single set-top box.”

Turner Classic Movies (TCM) will present in March a month-long programming event focusing on films found objectionable by the Catholic Legion of Decency.

The event, Condemned, will air consecutive Thursdays beginning in March and will focus on 27 films that the Catholic Legion of Decency said had inappropriate content, mostly of a sexual nature, as perceived by the Catholic Church, according to TCM.

The series will include primetime screenings hosted by Sister Rose Pacatte, member of The Daughters of St. Paul, founding director of the Pauline Center for Media Studies and celebrated film reviewer.

Key films featured as part of Condemned include Baby Face (1933), And God Created Woman (1956), Kiss Me, Stupid (1964), and The Carey Treatment (1972), said the network.

“We’re always looking for creative ways to explore film history through various viewpoints and this month-long programming slate provides fans with a different perspective in order to view these films through a new lens,” said Charles Tabesh, senior vice president of programming for TCM.

Amazon’s “Mozart in the Jungle” will get a third season, with the story moving to Europe.

Amazon has renewed Mozart in the Jungle for a third season.

The show was a big winner at the Golden Globes last month, named best comedy, as star Gael Garcia Bernal took home best actor in a comedy.

Season 3 production begins later this year and will continue the story of classical musicians who perform under the baton of a spirited conductor, played by Bernal. Executive produced by Roman Coppola, Jason Schwartzman and Paul Weitz, the season will see conductor Rodrigo and many musicians take their talents to Europe.

“Mozart in the Jungle bursts with creativity and passion, and offers audiences something truly unique,” said Joe Lewis, head of half hour series, Amazon Studios.

Santone, who is based in Atlanta and reports to Turner chairman and CEO John Martin, will continue to have executive oversight of all HR functions for the company’s domestic and international networks and businesses, a role she has been carrying out since being named SVP and and chief human resources officer in June 2013. Last year, Santone’s duties expanded to include corporate responsibility, and was named to Turner’s executive committee.

“Angela is a highly skilled executive who has touched nearly every corner of our business and helped drive the company’s momentum in many ways,” Martin said in a statement. “Her strategic guidance and swift expertise have been invaluable to me and the company’s leadership team, and her innate passion for growing and developing our talent is pivotal to our continued success and as we transform our company and culture.”

Santone joined Turner from S2 Systems in 2001.

She has served as a mentor for the Southeast Chapter of Women in Cable Telecommunications (WICT) and its Agnes Scott mentoring program, as well as the internal Turner Women Today organization. She also serves on the board of directors for the Emma L. Bowen Foundation for Minority Interests, as well as the national WICT organization. Santone earned an undergraduate degree from Florida State University and a master’s degree in counseling from Troy University.

Cablevision Systems said it is the first MVPD to provide authenticated access to CBS’s live streaming feed, so long as they’re accessing it in a market that is served by a CBS owned and operated station.

Cablevision subs can use their TVE credentials to view a live stream of CBS when in a market served by a CBS O&O, which today includes New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, San Francisco, Boston, Detroit, Minneapolis, Miami, Denver, Sacramento, Pittsburgh and Baltimore.

Cablevision’s authenticated access to the CBS live stream comes on the heels of a multi-year content carriage deal announced last August that covered retransmission consent for CBS-owned stations, continued carriage of Showtime, CBS Sports Network and Smithsonian Channel. It also made Cablevision the first pay TV provider to announce plans to distribute CBS All Access and Showtime streaming services to broadband (Optimum Online) customers.

CBS noted on its Web site that it expects to add more providers to the streaming mix soon.

Prior to the Cablevision agreement, CBS had limited access to those live streams to subscribers of the broadcaster’s subscription service, CBS All Access.

“We are pleased to expand on our already robust relationship with CBS by becoming the first provider to launch the network’s new live streaming feature,” said Tom Montemagno, executive vice president, programming, Cablevision, in a statement. “Cablevision now holds distribution rights for all of CBS’s streaming platforms, demonstrating our commitment to providing customers with the ability to watch the high-quality content they desire on their own terms.”

“We applaud Cablevision in recognizing the value of delivering CBS programming to its subscribers outside the home, so they can watch CBS whenever they want on whichever device they choose,” added Ray Hopkins, president, television networks distribution at CBS Corp.

DirecTV has reached a post with Al Jazeera on its one-year-old grievance against the engineer in a give out that is reasonable division of a broader mien treaty.
“We’re pleased as punch to possess appointed the MFN disobedience suit with Al Jazeera Earth and assure that our customers take into ...